George Clooney visits Edinburgh social enterprise (Video)

Oscar winner and Hollywood icon George Clooney took some time out of his busy schedule to visit the Social Bite café in Edinburgh, an SME which donates 100 per cent of its profits to support the nation’s homeless.

Supporting a great cause

Founded in 2011, the sandwich and coffee shop competes with some of the world’s biggest high street brands, such as Costa and Starbucks.

Social Bite spans every major city in Scotland, with 100 per cent of its profits invested into good causes. So far thousands of pounds have been taken from the café’s coffers to help one thousand women in Africa set up their own business, pay for sight saving operations in Bangladesh and also help people closer to home, including several homeless charities in Scotland.

The café also runs a ‘selfless’ food service programme, where people can order food via an app, and then homeless people come and collect the food and have it for themselves. Customers who gain 10 loyalty points can also purchase food for free that can be instead given to the homeless.

A crowd of over 200 people flocked outside the café to get a glimpse of Clooney, who donated £1000 during his visit to the social enterprise.

‘‘I like what they’re doing; I think it’s a very important cause. I think the idea that we can all participate in everyone’s difficulties is really important,’’ Clooney told reporters.

‘‘He’s one of the most famous people on the planet’’

Clooney also visited the Postcode Lottery during his Edinburgh trip, one of the companies that gave Social Bite funding. The Gravity star also spoke at the Scottish Business Awards at the city’s international conference centre.

The awards show (which was founded by Social Bite owner Josh Littlejohn) was be hosted by comedian Rob Brydon, with all proceeds going to a number of charities, including Social Bite café.

‘‘The staff are unbelievably excited about George’s visit,’’ said Littlejohn moments before Clooney’s visit. ‘‘He’s one of the most famous people on the planet and we are looking forward to introducing him to the Social Bite concept.’’

Clooney is not the only movie star to show his support to social enterprises. In April, comedian/Hollywood star Russel Brand created the Trew Era café, a small business which is staffed completely by people in abstinence-based recovery.